Currency News for March 1st 2021

The Ghanaian Cedi at the start of the week registered gains against all three major trading partner currencies on both the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform and on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) as the strong demand for forex continues to cool off. The Cedi remained on a strong footing to post its third and sixth consecutive weekly gains against the US Dollar on the BoG inter-banking trading platform and on the Open Forex Market respectively.

The Cedi’s resilience performance so far in the year has come on the back of improving investor risk sentiments as vaccination programs gain momentum on the world stage. This coupled with the recent upsurge in foreign portfolio inflows resulting in Treasury assets oversubscription have contributed to sustaining the local currency. Results of the last forex forward rates auction showed slowing demand for the Dollar as bids submitted were almost at par with the offer amount.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi strengthened by 0.37%, 1.32%, and 1.26% to trade at GHC 5.7353, GHC 7.9864, and GHC 6.9044 at the start of the week from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.7565, GHC 8.0936, and GHC 6.9923 against the Dollar, the British Pound Sterling, and the Euro respectively. The Dollar lost against a host of currencies as investors unwind their assets in safe-havens as economic recovery in the US continues to gain traction.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi soared by 0.43%, 1.05%, and 1.06% to begin the week trading at GHC 5.7576, GHC 8.0328, and GHC 6.9441 as against previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.7824, GHC 8.1183, and GHC 7.0183 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Cedi extended its positive year-to-date performance against the Euro to 3.85%, the biggest among the three currencies as investors remain wary that the pace of the vaccination program in the Eurozone compared to its peers will lead to late recovery in the Eurozone.

According to the Bank of Ghana inter-bank rates, the Ghanaian Cedi began the year 2021 at GHC 5.7631 [January 4th, 2021] against the US Dollar and is currently selling at GHC 5.7353 [March 1st, 2021] indicating a 0.48% year-to-date appreciation. Similarly, on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Ghanaian Cedi traded at GHC 5.8885 [January 4th, 2020] and is currently trading at GHC 5.7576 [March 1st, 2021], representing a 2.22% year-to-date appreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.